I guessing everyone's list will vary based on what their favored cusines are, but my list would include Lugers for steak, 1 or 8 for sushi, Saul as the haute example and Henry's End for game in the fall.

Convivium Osteria. That is the best Italian restaurant I've eaten at, in Brooklyn. Al Di La is good, but CO is more refined.The Rabbit is awesome, the Gnudo amazing. Places like Frankies are Ok if you want meatballs or stuffed peppers.I went to CO for the first time last night, I was pleasantly amazed. Bamonte's is good for "old time" atmosphere and old school dishes. River Cafe of course is excellent but closed since Sandy.Henry's End was interesting when they first opened, with all their exotic meat dishes but nothing drew me back there. Rose Water is good for the choices in Park Slope, but compared to better Manhattan restaurants it's not quite good enough. Luger's of course is great.Rucola I find to be a nice place to eat, good , friendly service. The food is nothing special but very acceptable. Fernando's for the panelle, they have the best.Tanoreen people seem to like, i think the food is overpriced and mediocre at best. Brooklyn Fare is fantastic, my only issues there is the price and the fact that they got 3 Michelin stars, Which doesn't make sense for counter dining. Pok Pok has good Thai food , better than others I've tried in Bklyn. Pines almost went there but the menu seemed too "unspecial" and the fact that they sell you bread is absurd.1 or 8 has the best sushi and japanese cooked in Brooklyn. IMHO Teresa for just home made simple Polish food.MOIM for modern korean food in Park Slope is really good. Talde I didn't like much, but it had potential. I went ,when they first opened. I plan on trying it again.

Hmmmm, i should have realized that Convivium Osteria was not strictly Italian, when I saw Amejoas and chorizo on the menu, and not vongole, I;'ve had that dish in Portugal. Also they had Spanish wine. I guess that should have tipped me off. The waiter appeared to be italian. The dishes I had were all Italian. Some dishes I didn't have like a pasta with beef ragu seemed italian.. Oh well, It's a great Mediterranean restaurant

Convivium is fantastic, a real neighborhood gem that deserves more notice - I used to live on that block and was there quite often years ago. The menu has always been kind of Pan-Mediterranean, though earlier it leaned more heavily Portuguese, with a couple of smaller pasta dishes offered as mid-courses. Haven't been in some time (probably a couple years, sadly, but this thread is making me want to go back...) but it's possible they've moved things in a more Italian direction if that's the stuff that was selling better.

It does seem more italian, but I do love Portuguese food. They had a gnocchi-like dish called gnudo ( not made from potato). The gnudo was stuffed with spinach and ricotta, and was delicious. I never hear of gnudo before but strangely a few days later at Recette they served gnudi ( i guess plural for gnudo), it was good also. Convivium is my favorite Park Slope restaurant now.

Gnudi are a fairly common dish - the name means "nude" (as you can imagine) and it basically measn the filling of a ravioli without the wrapper, bound with a little egg into dumplings. Traditionally it's made with spinach and ricotta and dressed with brown butter and sage. Iacopo Falai made the best in town, hands down, but sadly both his places seem to be closed for good. Don't know if he'll be re-emerging with a new place or if they'll be on the menu... April Bloomfield's at The Spotted Pig are justifiably loved - she crusts hers in a little semolina, giving them another texture. Had some at Rouge Tomate as well, really good.

Thanks for the explanation. I did enjoy the gnudi at Convivium. I had been to Falai a few times but don't remember if I had these. I will check out the ones at Spotted Pig, that is convenient for me. I am unfamiliar with Rouge Tomate.

funny, I thought the gnudi were a little too firm the last time I tried but maybe it was an aberration. They werent bad, mind you.

Last time I went to convivium I ordered badly - the octopus and the rabbit both had basically the same treatment (olives - potatoes etc) which I had rather od'd on any way on a recent visit to Liguria so the meal was a bit boring and the rabbit not as interesting as I recalled. Also the waiter was nasty to us. Will have to get back quickly and redeem the experience.

Interestingly enough (or not), we haven't been back to Convivium in probably five years or more. I remember the food fondly and the space is/was charming. But you bring me back to the reason we stopped going and that was the unevenness of the service experience. At least 2 out of the 10 or so times we went, we had poor to rude service from waitstaff and even from the owners. Not outright nastiness, but just the kind of "we can care less whether you're liking this or not" type of attitude thing that ruins an otherwise good time. And that offset, at least for us, the 5 or so times that everything was just fine & the remaining 3 or so times where they were all actually very friendly and solicitous. And here you are saying "...the waiter was nasty to us. Will have to get back quickly and redeem the experience". Really? Is it worth it? Should we return? I guess it's time. The food I remember is better than most of the places we go & probably worth another shot.

Never had a nasty experience, but the last time I was there with my husband (a few months ago), we had this older Italian (?) waiter who ignored me the entire time. When I asked questions about the menu he would answer to DH, not me. When he presented the food he would only address DH. I even asked for the check and paid the bill and I was still ignored! I wasn't upset but merely amused by the waiter's bizarre behavior. I don't know if it's a cultural or generational thing but it was quite odd.